Jonathan Collins
Jonathan Collins
is an
artist/painter born and raised in New Jersey. He began drawing at the
age
of four, extending the tradition of artists in his
family including his father Don Collins, and grandfather Harold
Collins.
In 1988 Collins attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on a full scholarship. He left soon after to pursue a solitary path in painting. The beginning of 1990 saw Mr. Collins receiving the first of two international grants for painting from the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Quebec, Canada.
Mr. Collins begins a major work with graphic pencil sketches, continuing on with India ink and color studies, until a final composition is reached. His watercolors are then carefully worked wash upon wash, some of them quite wild, the layers of light and color shimmering through. He has spent anywhere from one week to seven months on a single work.
Jonathan's portraits have a
rich
tapestry of woven color, of skin that appears to breathe, hair
that blows
in the wind, or absorbs the heat of intense sunlight. His recent
work has
taken on an
interesting dimension with "Amiens," the scene of the
famous cathedral of northern France. The viewer is
confronted by an old building blocking the view of the
cathedral,
and from there to a pensive figure taking solace on the church steps,
the sky's
reflection eerily noticeable in the stained glass windows
above.
Jonathan Collins' paintings
portray a
unique
vision of realism in America today. Symbolism and private
intuition somehow vibrate through the core of the
compositions,
and display an intense emotional connection to the subjects. Universal
themes
filled with light, Collins' pictorial integrity and deep stirring
vision
suggest an artist whose time for greater recognition has
come.
Artist's
Statement
My works are tightly woven watercolors on paper that have been created
from the beginning by painting the subjects from the inside
out.
I first experience the subject, up close intimately, finding its
essence,
dissecting with pencil its inner core structure. I slowly build up the
composition through watercolor and black ink studies, and begin the
final
surface, my aim being to truly imbed the marrow of the subject into the
surface
of the paper. My paintings become real life organic
entities to
me, deeply charged with symbolism. They are my profession
of
belief in the glory of existence, and the sanctity of human
involvement and perception.
----Jonathan Collins
Exhibitions:
"In
The Realm of
Light" Warner Lambert, Inc. Gallery, Morris Plains,
N.J.
1994
"Paintings By Jonathan Collins" Sussex County College, Newton,
N.J. 1994
"Drawings and Small Sculpture" Hunterdon Art Center, Clinton, N.J.
1989
Collections:
Athens,
Greece
1999
Mexico City, Mexico
1998
Warner Lambert Corporate Collection, Toronto, Canada
1997
Warner Lambert Corporate Collection, Rockford, IL
1997
Warner Lambert Corporate Collection, Sao Paulo, Brazil
1996
ALSO MANY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE
Awards:
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Painting) Quebec,
Canada 1993
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Painting) Quebec, Canada
1990
New Jersey Governor's Award For Art Education, Trenton, N.J.
1988
Education:
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia,
P.A. 1988-89
Morris County Art
Association, Morristown, N.J.
1987-90
Areas
0f Private Study:
11th - 20th Century Art, France, Italy
1997
16th - 17th Century Art, Netherlands
1994
16th - 20th Century Art, France
1994
Ancient Roman & Renaissance Art, Italy
1994
Ancient - Modern Art, New York, NY
1987
- Present
